Aquatica
Aquatica is a deity worshiped mostly by Humans on the world of Goric in the Emeron campaign. Teachings Aquatica is a fickle and often cruel sea goddess worshiped by sailors and seamen of the open sea. As Emeron is landlocked she is poorly represented in that kingdom, as the grand rivers used for water travel are incredibly calm and safe in comparison to the open sea. In other parts of the world she is very popular however. Aquatica’s holy symbol is a trident or a fish. Aquatica teaches her followers to be self-reliant and resourceful, for your environment can turn on you in an instant. Her priests are frequently sailors and fishermen or live among such populations and offer blessings to those about to ply their trade. Smart (and well off) sea captains and/or ship owners will hire a cleric of Aquatica for a sea voyage to offer regular prayers to her for an increased chance of a safe and productive voyage. It is traditional to sacrifice livestock to Aquatica before beginning a long voyage by throwing it overboard as an offering to her. Temples to Aquatica generally only exist in port towns or small altars on sailing vessels. Her clerics tend to dress similarly to sailors or fishermen, although they wash their clothes in seawater making them tend to be somewhat hard and crusty when dried. The trident is the favored weapon of her clerics. Appearance Aquatica is depicted as a female who has two aspects. The first is beautiful mermaid who is kind and loving and the other is a monstrous hag whose upper body his humanoid and whose lower half is that of an octopus. The legend is that Aquatica can transform back and forth without warning, but both are truly her. These legends naturally reflect the dual nature of the ocean. She has also been said to appear as any aquatic creature, from fish to whale, at her whim. Church Structure The church is only really worshiped along the banks of the Long, Tribarc and Osquad rivers and only then by fishermen and sailors among those communities. Their churches or temples tend to be near the water, often as close to the docks as possible. They offer prayers and blessings to fishermen and sailors about to go out on the water and for a price a member of the clergy may even sign on to a voyage itself to increase the chance of Aquatica’s blessings (although this is expensive.) Ranks The church is not overly organized and each location tends to handle it’s own inner workings and organization based on the priest of that location. The ranks of the church are as follows: -Damp Brother/Sister: Equivalent to an acolyte or neophyte, this is the rank for a new adherent to the faith. -Wet Brother/Sister: A full fledged member of the clergy. Often faithful of this rank will be hired to sail with a ship or go out on missions or command a temple in a small settlement. -Sea Brother/Sister: This is the equivalent of a High Priest. A cleric of this rank will often command a temple in a city. Church Design A church of Aquatica will be a near to the water as possible. In larger cities where the church has the funds sometimes they will even build their temples jutting over the water so that part of the floor is replaced with the sea or sailing river. If that is not an option they will simply march from their church to the water's edge for prayers and rites. The Storm Bringers Within the church is a group of the faithful who focus on weaponizing the gifts of Aquatica on the open sea. These clerics will often hire on with military or mercenary (or even pirate) ships and use their powers to damage, destroy or sink enemy ships. This group is very poorly represented in the Kingdom of Emeron, as there are very few naval battles, but they are more prevalent on the more seafaring nations of the Eastern Realms and the Dragon Sea and Western Sea. Category:Emeron Category:Gods